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The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday rejected the bail application by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

The trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, however, granted an accelerated hearing instead.

Counsel for the IPOB leader, Alloy Ejimakor, had at the last adjourned date urged the court to admit Kanu to bail before the commencement of the trial.

Ejimakor stated that Kanu’s health condition was deteriorating, adding that his continued detention by the DSS was a threat to his life.

Ejimakor also argued that the continued incarceration of Kanu would not enable him to put up a good defence in the matter.

But the counsel for the FG, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the bail application and instead grant an accelerated hearing.

He noted that the DSS has a medical facility that could take care of him.

Awomolo also accused Kanu of once jumping bail, adding that he failed to declare on oath in the affidavit filed by his lawyer that if granted bail, he wouldn’t jump bail.

He was earlier granted bail on health grounds on April 25, 2017, after spending 18 months in detention but he fled the country after an invasion of his residence by the military in September 2017.

A prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ijeoma Maltida, has revealed how the Head of the Stakeholders Unit, Federal Inland Revenue Services, Emmanuella-Eteta Ita, siphoned and diverted large sums of money meant for stakeholders’ assignments to the account of her private school, Surestart School Limited.

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, revealed the development of the court proceeding in a statement on Monday.

Oyewale said, “A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the Head of Stakeholders Unit of the Federal Inland Revenue Services, Emmanuella Eteta Ita, on Monday, March 18, 2024, told Justice Giwa Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, how Ita siphoned and diverted large sums of money meant for stakeholders’ assignments to her private school, Surestart School Limited..

“Ita ran Surestart School Limited while serving as the Head of the Stakeholders Unit of the FIRS.

“The witness, Ijeoma Maltida, while giving her testimony during a cross-examination by defence counsel, Paul Erokoro, revealed that the first defendant, Ita, undertook some stakeholders’ assignments and the funds meant for the projects were traced into her account with the payment narration.

“Investigations showed that the same funds were sent directly into the account of the second defendant, Surestart School Limited.”

Quoting the witness, Oyewale noted, “When she came to our office, we took her statement, we were cordial with her, and she was treated very well with utmost respect. While she was with us for reconciliation, she started bringing documents, and she also opted to pay back for some reconciliation she could not account for.

“She said in her statement that she would pay back the money, I don’t know where she got the money from, and so far, she has refunded about N17 million, though she told us that she benefited about N5 million from the programme,.

“I don’t know the standard practice of sourcing for funds before asking for reimbursement, and it is not within the scope of our investigation. All I know is that she undertook some of the stakeholders’ events, and we saw that those monies that came from FIRS went directly into the account of the second defendant, and the description was that the assignment was not done.”

Matilda continued, “She said the vendors that were supposed to do the events had given their evidence in court and testified that the receipts didn’t come from them. She further claimed that those receipts were given to her by one Daniel, who was a staff of FIRS.

“We were told he was late, and we demanded the death certificate which was given to us. We requested his account details, and we discovered he was also a beneficiary. We wrote to FIRS, UBA, System Spec, and invited everyone involved in this matter, and everything we have here is a result of our investigations.”

Oyewale noted that after the cross-examination, Justice Ogunbanjo adjourned the matter till March 20 and 21, 2024, for continuation of cross-examination.

The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, says President Bola Tinubu will struggle to get two per cent votes in the 2027 presidential election in the capital if he fails to stop the minister, Nyesom Wike from killing the party.

The party leaders stated this at a press conference in Abuja, lamenting the disregard of APC members in recent appointments made by Wike.

They also said the party may lose the next Area Councils election if the situation remains unchanged, claiming that the minister is killing the political structure of the APC in FCT due to his lack of regard for the party and its leadership.

The APC chieftains, led by convener, Comrade Abdulwahab Ekekhide, and co-convener, David Omobolaji Obaje, said the minister, since assuming office, has refused to sit with the leadership of the party, even though the party has written him a series of letters for him to grant them audience, but all to no avail.

LEADING REPORTERS recalls that Wike, a PDP member, was appointed FCT minister by President Tinubu, the leader of the APC.

Ekekhide, however, said the leadership and entire members of the APC family in the FCT, in unison, reject “in very strong terms the continuous lopsided appointments, abandonment and total disregard for the APC in FCT by the minister.”

“We call on Mr. President, who is the Governor-General to call the Minister to order, so that he can retrace his steps and start empowering the party or else, the party will struggle to get 2% for the President in the 2027 Presidential election and may lose the next Area Councils election if the situation remains this way.

“As we all know, the President is the Governor-General of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), but delegates his powers to a Minister, and today Barr. Nyesom Wike is standing in for the President as Hon. Minister of the FCT,” he added.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has proposed the sum of N26.6 billion to FCT Water Board and Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to provide clean water and maintain a healthy environment in the territory.

Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, who stated this when he appeared before the Senate and House Committees on FCT to defend the N1.15 trillion 2024 proposed FCT Statutory Budget, said that of the N26.6 billion, N9 billion was earmarked for the water sector to enhance water treatment and supply in the FCT.

Wike added that out of the N9 billion, N2.2 billion was earmarked for water treatment chemicals, while N7.4 billion was for the FCT Water Board personnel and overhead costs, and capital expenditure.

“Through the 2024 statutory budget, we shall accelerate the implementation of the Greater Abuja Water Project being executed through a China Exim Bank Loan, but for which we are to make counterpart funding provision.

“The completion of implementation of the project will extend water supply to about 26 districts and layouts,” Wike said.

Wike explained that the FCTA has reached an advanced stage in exploiting Public Private Partnership for the deployment of pre-paid meters for dispensing of water at points of consumption.

This, according to him, is to bridge the wide gap between current revenue generation in the water sector, its inherent potential, as well as the need to minimise wastages.

He stressed that successful implementation of the initiative will greatly assist in addressing the revenue shortfalls of the sector.

The minister also explained that a total of N17.6 billion was allocated to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to maintain a clean and healthy environment.

“It is worthy to note that the City Cleaning contracts of the FCT require over N7 billion per annum, while the maintenance of the Wupa Sewage Treatment Plant requires about N2.5 billion annually.

“We are also reviewing our mode of operations to initiate a more cost-efficient city cleaning strategy in the 2024 fiscal year,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman Senate and House Committees on FCT, Ibrahim Bomai, and Muktar Betara respectively, who commended the minister for the development stride in the FCT, assured him the full support of the National Assembly.

The Abia State Governor Dr Alex Otti on Monday appointed Dr Eno J Eze as chairman of the Abia State civil service commission.

Dr Eno, who is married to Pastor Jerry Eze, the founder of Streams of Joy International and leader of New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declaration (NSPPD). was announced chairman of the commission in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kazie Uko.

Dr. Eno Jerry, a burning and shining Light, a transformational catalyst, a quintessential speaker, a dynamic preacher, and very significantly is the female voice that roars on the widely acclaimed Global prayer platform New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations(NSPPD) alongside her husband Pastor Jerry Eze popularly known for the slogan What God Cannot Do Does Not Exist.

Pastor Eno, as she is fondly called, currently sits as the Resident Pastor of Streams of Joy Umuahia, an expression of their burgeoning ministry, Streams of Joy International.

Also working at the heart of her life’s assignment, she actively supports women to pursue their God-ordained destinies through mentoring, coaching, and leadership at The Women on Fire Network, an organisation dedicated to empowering and raising pastor’s wives, women in ministry, and women on fire for God since the inception of the Women of Fire network in 2020.

She has held several Pastors’ Wives and Women in Ministry Conferences all over Nigeria and continues to serve thousands of members all over the world as far as the United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Canada.

Pastor Eno holds an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from the Entrepreneurship Institute Australia, a Masters in International Human Resource Management from the University of Greenwich London, and is currently concluding her PhD in Human Resources Management.

With extensive years in management, she consults for multinational companies, mega-churches, and several non-profit organisations.

She is the Lead Consultant, M.D, and CEO of Jeno Management Solutions, a Human Resource Company.

Kano State Government has budgeted N6 billion to feed about four million less privileged persons in the during this Ramadan period.

Leading reporters understands that the 2024 Ramadan feeding programme will cover the 44 local government areas of the state.

The commissioner for information and home affairs, Hon Baba Dantiye, stated this while addressing journalists in Kano on Monday.

Dantiye stressed that Kano metropolis, which has eight local government areas, has 90 special centres that include mosques, remand centres, Almajiri schools, hospitals and Islamic schools and feeds an average of 18,000 people daily.

The commissioner said the budget covers cost of food items, hiring of cooking utensils, allowances for cooks and security, firewood among others for the whole Ramadan period.

“In each centre we have three women who cook and three men that provide security so that people don’t tamper with the food or cause stampede,” he said.

“In each centre there are two bags of rice to feed at least 200 people, that is 100 people per bag; there are also varieties such as beans cake and pap and other assorted food being cooked daily and is served between 6.30pm and 7.00p.m targeted at the most-needy.

“The centres are strategically selected where you have Islamic schools, densely populated areas, remand homes, hospitals, almajiri schools among others,” he added.

Ministers are in panic mode as President Bola Tinubu prepares to reshuffle his cabinet before his first anniversary in office.

May 29, 2024, will mark the first year of President Tinubu in office as Nigeria’s leader, and there are ongoing efforts to rejig the Federal Executive Council.

President Tinubu is set to flag off a three-step approach to assessing his Ministers and heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) ahead of his first year in office.

The aim is to provide a platform that will allow members of the public to make inputs about the ministers that will be retained and those that may be asked to go.

Credible sources at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, told BusinessDay on Monday that the President would launch the platform, enabling Nigerians to provide feedback on their assessment of each minister and their performance.

“This will be done at three different levels. First, you have members of the public who can through the platform, get relevant information on the President Bola Tinubu’s targets for each Ministry and through that give feedback on the performance of each Minister based on the targets provided,” the source said.

“The next stage will be evaluation carried out by the Policy Coordination office, and lastly, a group of Consultants will also give their assessments on the Ministers performance.

“So, these will be the basis for determining which Minister stays and those that will leave the cabinet because of poor performance,” the source added.

Bala-Usman had indicated that President Tinubu “will drop ministers who do not deliver on their mandates.

She had stated this at the opening of a technical retreat organised for delivery desk officers of federal ministries to train them on implementation of presidential priorities and ministerial deliverables in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.

“You must understand that as ministerial delivery desk officers, you are the engine room that will provide that feedback, constantly track ministerial progress, report challenges, and bottle to the CDCU,” she stated.

Troops of the Nigerian Army deployed in the 1 Division Area of Responsibility in Kaduna State have successfully rescued 16 kidnap victims in the Kajuru Local Government area.

According to a statement released by the Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, the rescue operation took place in the Tantatu Community of Kajuru Local Government Area on March 17, 2024, around 10:30 pm local time.

The troops, acting on actionable intelligence, swiftly responded to reports of insurgents attacking the community and abducting several villagers as hostages. Upon arrival at the scene, the troops engaged the insurgents in a fierce firefight, relentlessly pursuing them into the bushes.

“Tenaciously pursuing the insurgents, engaging them in a ferocious exchange of fire, the troops succeeded in rescuing 16 kidnapped victims,” Major General Nwachukwu stated.

The Army spokesman further emphasized that the troops continue to scour the bushes in ongoing search and rescue operations, with the aim of liberating any remaining victims and thwarting the nefarious activities of the insurgents.

In commendation of the troops’ successful rescue operation, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, lauded their bravery and urged them to remain vigilant as they continue their counter-insurgency operations to secure troubled areas across the country.

President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, met the leadership of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress at the State House, Abuja.⁣
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LEADING REPORTERS understands that Monday’s meeting was meant to address disagreements brewing in Edo APC for weeks now and officially present the party’s flag to its candidate in the September 2024 governorship elections, Monday Okpebholo, and his running mate, Dennis Idahosa.

The delegation was led to the Villa by the APC Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje. ⁣

While the full details of the closed-door talks remain unclear, our correspondent learned that Idahosa has been asked to withdraw his court case against Okpebholo’s candidature. ⁣

The primary election through which Okpebholo emerged as a candidate has been mired in controversy.

Idahosa was first declared the party’s nominee by the Governor Hope Uzodimma-led committee. ⁣
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The first round of voting saw the trio of Okpebholo, Idahosa, and Dekeri lay claim to the party’s governorship ticket.

Consequently, the party’s National Working Committee declared the exercise inconclusive owing to several irregularities.

Okpebholo eventually secured victory with 12,433 votes in the February 23 re-run.

Also present at the meeting was the Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole, and former representative of Edo South in the Senate, Matthew Urhoghide, among others.

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that data and voice services affected by undersea cable cuts has been restored.

It would be recall that there was a disruption in network service on
March 14, 2024, which affected data and voice services due to cuts in undersea fibre optics along the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal which affected communication services in Nigeria and other countries.

Meanwhile, the Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka in a recent statement made available to Leading Reporters has confirmed that services have now been restored to approximately 90% of their peak utilization capacities.

According to Muoka all operators who were impacted by the cuts have taken recovery capacity from submarine cables which were not impacted by the cuts, and have thus recovered approximately 90% of their peak utilisation capacities.

He noted that Mobile Network Operators have assured the Commission that data and voice services would operate optimally pending full repairs of the undersea cables as they have managed to activate alternative connectivities to bring back the situation to normalcy.